Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1887-07-21
VICTORY AND VICTORIA.
A Comparison Between Nelson's Flagship
and Modern IrOn-Clad.

A Comparison Between Nelson's Flagship
and Modern IrOn-Clad.
Sir William Armstrong, in the
course of his speech on the launch of
the new British iron-clad Victoria,
made some interesting remarks on the
past and present of English men-of-
war. '1n an esthetic point of view,
he said, sit must be confessed our
ships have sadly deteriorated. No
more beautiful object could be seen
than a great man-of-war of the old
type under press of sail. Poets and
painters have delighted in depicting
it; but the engineer appreciates power
more than beauty, and while Ruskin
would stigmatize modern warship as
devil ship, the engineer regards it
as splendid triumph of mechanical
skill" Sir William then went on to
take a particular instance, and COM
pared the new Victoria with the old
Victory. The Victory, in accordance
with the usage of the time, was bull t OF
oak; the Victoria, in accordance with
present practice, is built of iron. The
The Victory was propelled by wind,
over which man has no control; the
Victoria will be propelled by steam,
over which man has perfect mastery.
The Victory had the character of be-
ing an extraordinary quick sailer, and
when the wind in its vagaries hap
pened to be exceptionally propitious
she could attain speed of nearly thir-
teen knots an hour. The Victoria,
propelled by engines of more than 12,-
000-horse-power, may be expected to
achieve about seventeen knots an
hour, and will be Independent of the
wind. In regard to armament, the
comparison in favor of the Victoria is
astounding, and ought to open the
eyes of those who are in the habit of
disparaging the progress of artillery
in this country. The armament of
the Victory, as she fought at Ira
falgar, consisted of thirty 92-
Founders, thirty 24-pounders,
forty 12-pounders, and two g.
FOUNDER carronades, making in all 1O2
guns. The heaviest Of these guns was
under three tons, while the heaviest
on board the Victory is 110 tons. The
largest charge of powder used in the
Victory was 8 pounds, while the larg-
est charge to be used in the Victoria
will be 900 pounds The heaviest shot
used in the Victory was 6S pounds,
while in the Victoria it will be 1890
pounds. The weight of metal dis
charged from the broadside of the
Victory was 1,150 pounds, against
4,750 pounds from that of the Victoria,
but the power of the broadside dis
charge from each ship Is better indi'
Gated by the quantity of powder ex
pended than by the weight of meta
discharged, and while the broadside fire
from the Victory consumed only
225 pounds, that from the Victoris
will consume only 5000 pounds. Ii
point of range, accuracy, penetrating
power and shell power, the difference
is so great in favor of the Victoria tina
a comparison would be ridiculous,
have yet to give you the particulars o
the Victorias armament 1t will con
sist of two 110-guns, mounted in re
volving turret, and firing ahead or oil
either side; one S0-ton gun, firing
astern or on either aside, twelve 5-tol
guns; twelve 6-pounder quick-firin!
guns, and nine 3-pounder quick-tirin:
guns, and a considerable number o
machine-guns for small ammunition
Besides her artillery armament tn
Victoria has a powerful ram. and sh
carries eight torpedo discharges, fou
above and four below water, In tn
lighting days of the Victoria, rammins
was little practiced, and torpedoes wer
wholly unknown. Therefore in thes
respects no comparison ca
be drawn, but there is another poin
| Dl NlcW Ill WlCu bub iClOtld SOiiHhtS Y
in a highly favorable degree with tn
Victory, and that is in the smallness @
the number of officers and men re
quired TO handic the ships. The CON
plement of offers and men on boar
the Victory was $50, while on boar
the Victoria it will only be $50. G
whom 10 will be engineers aud stok
ers, leaving only 440 officers and me
in combatant capacity. Thus, a
though the Victoria is three times a
big as the Victory and prodlgiously ST.
peuor in offensive power, there wi
only be half the number of men e>
posed to death and wounds in tn
working of her armament This rC
suit is chiefly due to the mechanic;
appliances which in recent years hav
been introduced for working the gun:
London Telegraph.